Sahara
The Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى, aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Kubrā , 'the Great Desert') is the world's hottest desert, and the third largest desert after Antarctica and the Arctic.[1] At over 9,400,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi), it covers most of North Africa, making it almost as large as China or the United States. Lenovo 04W2236 Laptop Keyboard
The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of theAtlantic Ocean. To the south, it is delimited by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna that composes the northern region of central and western Sub-Saharan Africa.
Some of the sand dunes can reach 180 metres (590 ft) in height.[2] Compaq 6720s Laptop Keyboard
The name comes from the plural Arabic language word for desert (صحارى ṣaḥārā [3][4] [ˈsˤɑħɑ:rɑ:]).[5][6]
The Sahara's boundaries are the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean on the north, the Red Sea on the east, and the Sudan (region) and the valley of the Niger River on the south. SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard
The Sahara is divided into western Sahara, the central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Aïr Mountains (a region of desert mountains and high plateaus), Ténéré desert and the Libyan Desert (the most arid region). SAMSUNG Q330-JA02 Laptop Keyboard
The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi (3,415 metres (11,204 ft)) in the Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad.
The Sahara is the largest desert on the African continent. The southern border of the Sahara is marked by a band of semiarid savanna called the Sahel; DELL V119525BS1 Laptop Keyboard
south of the Sahel lies Southern Sudan and the Congo River Basin. Most of the Sahara consists of rocky hamada; ergs (large areas covered with sand dunes) form only a minor part. Lenovo Thinkpad T520 Laptop Keyboard
People lived on the edge of the desert thousands of years ago[7] since the last ice age. The Sahara was then a much wetter place than it is today. Over 30,000 petroglyphs of river animals such as crocodiles [8] survive, with half found in the Tassili n'Ajjer in southeast Algeria. Fossils of dinosaurs, including Afrovenator, DELL INSPIRON 1464 Laptop Keyboard
Jobaria andOuranosaurus, have also been found here. The modern Sahara, though, is not lush in vegetation, except in the NileValley, at a few oases, and in the northern highlands, where Mediterranean plants such as the olive tree are found to grow. The region has been this way since about 1600 BC, HP Mini 110-3101tu Laptop Keyboard
after shifts in the Earth's axis increased temperatures and decreased precipitation.[9] Then, due to a climate change, the savannah changed into the sandy desert as we know it now.[citation needed] DELL Latitude D620 Laptop Keyboard
Dominant ethnicities in the Sahara are various Berber groups including Tuareg tribes, various Arabized Berber groups such as the Hassaniya-speaking Maure (Moors, also known as Sahrawis, whose more known tribes are the Reguibat and theZnaga), including Toubou, Nubians, Zaghawa, Kanuri, Hausa, Songhai, and Fula/Fulani (French: Peul; Fula: Fulɓe). HP Mini 1001TU Laptop Keyboard
Important cities located in the Sahara include Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania; Tamanrasset, Ouargla, Béchar,Hassi Messaoud, Ghardaïa, and El Oued in Algeria; Timbuktu in Mali; Agadez in Niger; Ghat in Libya; and Faya-Largeau in Chad. COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
The Sahara covers large parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudanand Tunisia. It is one of three distinct physiographic provinces of the African massive physiographic division. ACER Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard
The desert landforms of the Sahara are shaped by wind or by occasional rains and include sand dunes and dune fields orsand seas (erg), stone plateaus (hamada), gravel plains (reg), dry valleys, and salt flats (shatt or chott). DELL F484C Laptop Keyboard
[10]Unusual landforms include the Richat Structure in Mauritania.
Several deeply dissected mountains and mountain ranges, many volcanic, rise from the desert, including the Aïr Mountains, TOSHIBA Satellite L750-ST4N02 Laptop Keyboard
Ahaggar Mountains, Saharan Atlas, Tibesti Mountains, Adrar des Iforas, and the Red Sea hills. The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi, a shield volcano in the Tibesti range of northern Chad.
Most of the rivers and streams in the Sahara are seasonal or intermittent, SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
the chief exception being the Nile River, which crosses the desert from its origins in central Africa to empty into the Mediterranean. Underground aquiferssometimes reach the surface, forming oases, including the Bahariya, Ghardaïa, Timimoun, Kufra, and Siwa. LENOVO Ideapad Y450 laptop keyboard
The central part of the Sahara is hyper-arid, with little vegetation. The northern and southern reaches of the desert, along with the highlands, have areas of sparse grassland and desert shrub, with trees and taller shrubs in wadis where moisture collects. Lenovo Ideapad G560 laptop keyboard
To the north, the Sahara reaches to the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt and portions of Libya, but in Cyrenaica and theMaghreb, the Sahara borders Mediterranean forest, woodland, and scrub ecoregions of northern Africa, which have aMediterranean climate characterized by a winter rainy season. GATEWAY MT6730 laptop keyboard
According to the botanical criteria of Frank White[11]and geographer Robert Capot-Rey,[12][13] the northern limit of the Sahara corresponds to the northern limit of date palmcultivation and the southern limit of esparto, a grass typical of the Mediterranean climate portion of the Maghreb andIberia. The northern limit also corresponds to the 100 mm (3.9 in) isohyet of annual precipitation.[14] SAMSUNG R520 laptop keyboard
To the south, the Sahara is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of dry tropical savanna with a summer rainy season that extends across Africa from east to west. The southern limit of the Sahara is indicated botanically by the southern limit of Cornulaca monacantha (a drought-tolerant member of the Chenopodiaceae), TOSHIBA Tecra M10-S1001 laptop keyboard
or northern limit of Cenchrus biflorus, a grass typical of the Sahel.[12][13] According to climatic criteria, the southern limit of the Sahara corresponds to the 150 mm (5.9 in) isohyet of annual precipitation (this is a long-term average, since precipitationvaries annually).[14] SONY VAIO VGN-CS15GN/B laptop keyboard
The climate of the Sahara has undergone enormous variations between wet and dry over the last few hundred thousand years.[15] This is due to a 41000 year cycle in which the tilt of the earth changes between 22° and 24.5°.[16] SONY VAIO VGN-CS17G/Q laptop keyboard
At present (2000 AD), we are in a dry period, but it is expected that the Sahara will become green again in 15000 years (17000 AD).
During the last glacial period, the Sahara was even bigger than it is today, extending south beyond its current boundaries.[17] TOSHIBA Satellite P305-S8822 laptop keyboard
The end of the glacial period brought more rain to the Sahara, from about 8000 BC to 6000 BC, perhaps because of low pressure areas over the collapsing ice sheets to the north.[18]
Once the ice sheets were gone, HP Pavilion DV7-3173nr laptop keyboard
the northern Sahara dried out. In the southern Sahara though, the drying trend was soon counteracted by the monsoon, which brought rain further north than it does today. In this period, there was still amonsoon climate in the Sahara. Monsoons form by heating of air over the land during summer. The hot air rises and pulls in cool, SONY VAIO VGN-FS840 laptop keyboard
wet air from the ocean, which causes rain. Thus, though it seems counterintuitive, the Sahara was wetter when it received more insolation in the summer. This was caused by a stronger tilt in Earth's axis of orbit than today (24.5 degree tilt vs the 23.4° tilt today[19]), and perihelion occurred at the end of July around 7000 BC.[20] SONY VAIO VGN-CR220E laptop keyboard
By around 4200 BC, the monsoon retreated south to approximately where it is today,[9] leading to the gradual desertification of the Sahara.[21] The Sahara is now as dry as it was about 13,000 years ago.[15] These conditions are responsible for what has been called the Sahara pump theory. HP Mini 210-2015la laptop keyboard
The Sahara has one of the harshest climates in the world. The prevailing north-easterly wind often causes sand storms and dust devils.[22] When this wind reaches the Mediterranean, it is known as sirocco and often reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa and southern Europe. Half of the Sahara receives less than 20 mm (0.79 in) Packard Bell NEW90 laptop keyboard
of rain per year, and the rest receives up to 100 mm (3.9 in) per year.[23] The rainfall happens very rarely, but when it does it is usually torrential when it occurs after long dry periods.
The southern boundary of the Sahara, as measured by rainfall, DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
was observed to both advance and retreat between 1980 and 1990. As a result of drought in the Sahel, the southern boundary moved south 130 kilometers (81 mi) overall during that period.[24]
Recent signals indicate that the Sahara and surrounding regions are greening because of increased rainfall. HP 594706-001 Laptop Keyboard
Satellite imaging shows extensive regreening of the Sahel between 1982 and 2002, and in both Eastern and Western Sahara a more than 20-year-long trend of increased grazing areas and flourishing trees and shrubs has been observed by climate scientist Stefan Kröpelin.[25]
On February 18, 1979, TOSHIBA Mini NB 305 Series Laptop Keyboard
snow fell in several places in southern Algeria, including a half-hour snowstorm that stopped traffic in Ghardaïa, and was reported as being "for the first time in living memory".[26] The snow was gone within hours.[27] HP Pavilion DV7-3065dx Laptop Keyboard
Several Saharan mountain ranges, however, receive snow more regularly. Although relative humidity is low in the arid environment, the absolute humidity is high enough for moisture to condense when driven up a mountain range. In winter, temperatures drop low enough on the Tahat summit to cause snow on average every three years; HP 636376-001 Laptop Keyboard
the Tibesti Mountains receive snow on peaks over 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) once every seven years on average.[28][29]
The Sahara comprises several distinct ecoregions, and with their variations in temperature, rainfall, elevation, and soil, they harbor distinct communities of plants and animals. TOSHIBA Satellite L755-SP5102CL Laptop Keyboard
The Atlantic coastal desert is a narrow strip along the Atlantic coast, where fog generated offshore by the coolCanary Current provides sufficient moisture to sustain a variety of lichens, succulents, and shrubs. It covers 39,900 square kilometers (15,400 sq mi) in Western Sahara and Mauritania.[31] HP AESP7U00110 Laptop Keyboard
The North Saharan steppe and woodlands is along the northern desert, next to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of the northern Maghreb and Cyrenaica. Winter rains sustain shrublands SONY VGN-FE670G Laptop Keyboard
and dry woodlands that form a transition between the Mediterranean climate regions to the north and the hyper-arid Sahara proper to the south. It covers 1,675,300 square kilometers (646,800 sq mi) in Algeria, Egypt, HP G42-164LA Laptop Keyboard
Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.[32]
The Sahara desert ecoregion covers the hyper-arid central portion of the Sahara where rainfall is minimal and sporadic. Vegetation is rare, and this ecoregion consists mostly of sand dunes (erg, chech, raoui), stone plateaus (hamadas), HP Mini 110-3130nr Laptop Keyboard
gravel plains (reg), dry valleys (wadis), and salt flats. It covers 4,639,900 square km (1,791,500 square miles) of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Sudan.[10]
The South Saharan steppe and woodlands ecoregion is a narrow band running east and west between the hyper-arid Sahara and the Sahel savannas to the south. HP Probook 4515S Laptop Keyboard
Movements of the equatorial Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) bring summer rains during July and August which average 100 to 200 mm (3.9 to 7.9 in) but vary greatly from year to year. These rains sustain summer pastures of grasses and herbs, with dry woodlands and shrublands along seasonal watercourses. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
This ecoregion covers 1,101,700 km2 (425,400 mi2) in Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Sudan.[33]
In the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands, several volcanic highlands provide a cooler, moister environment that supports Saharo-Mediterranean woodlands and shrublands. The ecoregion covers 258,100 km2 (99,700 mi2), COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
mostly in the Tassili n'Ajjer of Algeria, with smaller enclaves in the Aïr of Niger, the Dhar Adrar of Mauritania, and the Adrar des Iforas of Mali and Algeria.[34]
The Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands ecoregion consists of the Tibesti and Jebel Uweinat highlands. HP Mini 110-1135TU Laptop Keyboard
Higher and more regular rainfall and cooler temperatures support woodlands and shrublands of palms, acacias, myrtle, oleander, tamarix, and several rare and endemic plants. The ecoregion covers 82,200 km2 (31,700 mi2) in the Tibesti of Chad and Libya, and Jebel Uweinat on the border of Egypt, Libya, and Sudan.[35] SONY VAIO VGN-CR520E Laptop Keyboard
The Saharan halophytics is an area of seasonally flooded saline depressions which is home to halophytic (salt-adapted) plant communities. ACER TravelMate 3270 laptop keyboard
The Saharan halophytics cover 54,000 km2 (20,800 mi2), including the Qattara and Siwa depressions in northern Egypt, the Tunisian salt lakes of central Tunisia, Chott Melghir in Algeria, and smaller areas of Algeria, Mauritania, and Western Sahara.[36] HP Pavilion dm1-1000 laptop keyboard
The Tanezrouft is one of the harshest regions on Earth and the driest in the Sahara, with no vegetation and very little life. It is along the borders of Algeria, Niger and Mali, west of the Hoggar mountains. SONY VAIO VGN-CR Laptop Keyboard
Several species of fox live in the Sahara, including the fennec fox, pale fox and Rüppell's fox. The addax, a large white antelope, can go nearly a year in the desert without drinking. The dorcas gazelle is a north African gazelle that can also go for a long time without water. Other notable gazelles include the Rhim gazelle and dama gazelle. HP Pavilion dv5-1030ev laptop keyboard
The Saharan cheetah (northwest African cheetah) lives in Algeria, Togo, Niger, Mali, Benin, and Burkina Faso. There remain less than 250 mature cheetahs which are very cautious, fleeing any human presence. The cheetah avoids the sun from April to October, seeking the shelter of shrubs such as balanites and acacias. They are unusually pale.[37][38] SONY VAIO VGN-FS115Z laptop keyboard
Other animals include the monitor lizards, hyrax, sand vipers, and small populations of African wild dog,[39] in perhaps only 14 countries[40] and ostrich. There exist other animals in the Sahara (birds in particular) such as African silverbill and black-faced firefinch, among others. There are also small desert crocodiles in Mauritania and the Ennedi Plateau of Chad.[41] ASUS X53S laptop keyboard
The central Sahara is estimated to include five hundred species of plants, which is extremely low considering the huge extent of the area. Plants such as acacia trees, palms, succulents, spiny shrubs, and grasses have adapted to the arid conditions, by growing lower to avoid water loss by strong winds, Packard Bell PEW91 laptop keyboard
by storing water in their thick stems to use it in dry periods, by having long roots that travel horizontally to reach the maximum area of water and to find any surface moisture and by having small thick leaves or needles to prevent water loss by evapo-transpiration. Plant leaves may dry out totally and then recover. Lenovo IdeaPad Y430a laptop keyboard
Human activities are more likely to affect the habitat in areas of permanent water (oases) or where water comes close to the surface. Here, the local pressure on natural resources can be intense. Lenovo 0A62039 laptop keyboard
The remaining populations of large mammals have been greatly reduced by hunting for food and recreation. In recent years development projects have started in the deserts of Algeria and Tunisia using irrigated water pumped from underground aquifers. These schemes often lead to soil degradation and salinization. HP Pavilion dv6-2141ee laptop keyboard
During the Neolithic Era, before the onset of desertification, around 9500 BC the central Sudan had been a rich environment supporting a large population ranging across what is now barren desert, like the Wadi el-Qa'ab. HP Mini 110-3014tu laptop keyboard
By the 5th millennium BC, the peoples who inhabited what is now called Nubia, were full participants in the "agricultural revolution", living a settled lifestyle with domesticated plants and animals. Saharan rock art of cattle and herdsmen suggests the presence of a cattle cult like those found in Sudan and other pastoral societies in Africa today.[42] SONY VAIO VGN-N365E/B laptop keyboard
Megaliths found at Nabta Playa are overt examples of probably the world's first known archaeoastronomydevices, predating Stonehenge by some 2,000 years.[43] This complexity, as observed at Nabta Playa, SONY VAIO VGN-FS640/W laptop keyboard
and as expressed by different levels of authority within the society there, likely formed the basis for the structure of both the Neolithic society at Nabta and the Old Kingdom of Egypt.[44]
By 6000 BC predynastic Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and constructing large buildings. DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
Subsistence in organized and permanent settlements in predynastic Egypt by the middle of the 6th millennium BC centered predominantly on cereal and animal agriculture: cattle, goats, pigs and sheep. Metal objects replaced prior ones of stone. SONY VAIO VGN-NW235D laptop keyboard
Tanning of animal skins, pottery and weaving were commonplace in this era also.[45] There are indications of seasonal or only temporary occupation of the Al Fayyum in the 6th millennium BC, with food activities centering on fishing, hunting and food-gathering. Stone arrowheads, knives and scrapers from the era are commonly found.[46] HP Mini 110-1135TU laptop keyboard
Burial items included pottery, jewelry, farming and hunting equipment, and assorted foods including dried meat and fruit. Burial in desert environments appears to enhance Egyptian preservation rites, and dead were buried facing due west.[45] SONY VAIO VGN-CR23G laptop keyboard
By 3400 BC, the Sahara was as dry as it is today, due to reduced precipitation and higher temperatures resulting from a shift in the Earth's orbit,[9] and it became a largely impenetrable barrier to humans, with only scattered settlements around the oases but little trade or commerce through the desert. The one major exception was the Nile Valley. TOSHIBA 9J.N7482.901 Laptop Keyboard
The Nile, however, was impassable at several cataracts, making trade and contact by boat difficult.
An urban civilization, the Garamantes, arose around 500 BC in the heart of the Sahara, in a valley that is now called the Wadi al-Ajal in Fezzan, Libya.[15] SONY VAIO VGN-AR770 laptop keyboard
The Garamantes achieved this development by digging tunnels far into the mountains flanking the valley to tap fossil water and bring it to their fields. The Garamantes grew populous and strong, conquering their neighbors and capturing many slaves (which were put to work extending the tunnels). ACER Aspire 5005WLMi Laptop Keyboard
The ancient Greeks and the Romans knew of the Garamantes and regarded them as uncivilized nomads. However, they traded with the Garamantes, and a Roman bath has been found in the Garamantes capital of Garama. SAMSUNG NP-Q320-AS01UK Laptop Keyboard
Archaeologists have found eight major towns and many other important settlements in the Garamantes territory. The Garamantes civilization eventually collapsed after they had depleted available water in the aquifers and could no longer sustain the effort to extend the tunnels further into the mountains.[47] HP G62-455TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The Byzantine Empire ruled the northern shores of the Sahara from the 5th to the 7th century. When the Islamic conquest of North Africa began in the mid 7th to early 8th centuries, an Arabic and Islamic influence expanded rapidly on the Sahara. By the end of 641 all of Egypt was in Arab hands. The trade across the desert intensified. HP 532617-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The kingdoms of the Sahel, especially the Ghana Empire and the Mali Empire, grew rich and powerful exporting gold and salt to North Africa. The emirates along the Mediterranean Sea sent manufactured goods and horses south . DELL Latitude D830 Laptop Keyboard
From the Sahara itself, salt was exported. This process turned the scattered oasis communities into trading centres and brought them under the control of the empires on the edge of the desert. A significant slave trade crossed the desert. It has been estimated that from the 10th to the 19th century some 6,000 to 7,000 slaves were transported north each year.[49] DELL Latitude D620 Laptop Keyboard
This trade through Sahara persisted for several centuries until the development in Europe of the caravel allowed ships, first from Portugal and soon from all of Western Europe, to sail around the desert and gather the resources from the source inGuinea. ACER Travelmate 4670 Laptop Keyboard
The Sahara was rapidly marginalized.
From 16th century the northern fringe of the Sahara, such as coastal regencies in present day Algeria and Tunisia, as well as some parts of present-day Libya, together with the semi-autonomous kingdom of Egypt, TOSHIBA Satellite L550-ST5701 Laptop Keyboard
were occupied by the Ottoman Empire. From1517 Egypt was a valued part of the Ottoman Empire, ownership of which provided the Ottomans with control over the Nile Valley, the east Mediterranean and North Africa. DELL NSK-DB301 Laptop Keyboard
The benefit of the Ottoman Empire was the freedom of movement for citizens and goods. Trade exploited the Ottoman land routes to handle the spice, gold and silk from the East, manufactures from Europe and the slave and gold traffic from Africa. Arabic continued as the local language and Islamic culture was much reinforced. HP Pavilion DV7-3186cl Laptop Keyboard
The Sahel and southern Sahara regions were home to several independent states or home to roaming Tuareg clans.
European colonialism[edit] HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard
European colonialism in the Sahara began in the 19th century. France conquered the regency of Algiers from the Ottomans in 1830, and French rule spread south from Algeria and eastwards from Senegal into the upper Niger to include present-day Algeria, HP Pavilion dv6-2020ca Laptop Keyboard
Chad, Mali then French Sudan including Timbuktu, Mauritania, Morocco (1912), Niger, and Tunisia (1881).
The French Colonial Empire was the dominant presence in the Sahara. It established regular air links from Toulouse (HQ of famed Aéropostale), Compaq 6720s Laptop Keyboard
to Oran and over the Hoggar to Timbuktu and West to Bamako and Dakar, as well as trans-Sahara bus services run by La Companie Transsaharienne (est. 1927).[50] A remarkable film shot by famous aviator Captain René Wauthier documents the first crossing by a large truck convoy from Algiers to Tchad, across the Sahara.[51] SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard
Egypt, under Muhammad Ali and his successors, conquered Nubia in 1820–22, founded Khartoum in 1823, and conquered Darfur in 1874. HP Pavilion G7-1150US Laptop Keyboard
Egypt, including the Sudan, became a British protectorate in 1882. Egypt and Britain lost control of the Sudan from 1882 to 1898 as a result of the Mahdist War. After its capture by British troops in 1898, the Sudan became an Anglo-Egyptian condominium. SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard
Spain captured present-day Western Sahara after 1874, although Rio del Oro remained largely under Tuareg influence. In 1912, Italy captured parts of what was to be named Libya from the Ottomans. To promote the Roman Catholic religion in the desert, HP G62-361TX Laptop Keyboard
ope Pius IX appointed a delegate Apostolic of the Sahara and the Sudan in 1868 ; later in the 19th century his jurisdiction was reorganized into the Vicariate Apostolic of Sahara.
1936 allowed Britain to keep troops in Egypt and to maintain the British-Egyptian condominium in the Sudan. British military forces were withdrawn in 1954. SONY VAIO VGN-CR140F Laptop Keyboard
Most of the Saharan states achieved independence after World War II: Libya in 1951, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia in 1956, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger in 1960, and Algeria in 1962. Spain withdrew from Western Sahara in 1975, and it was partitioned between Mauritania and Morocco. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, and Morocco continues to hold the territory. HP Mini 110-3004tu laptop keyboard
In the post-World War II era, several mines and communities have developed to utilize the desert's natural resources. These include large deposits of oil andnatural gas in Algeria and Libya and large deposits of phosphates in Morocco and Western Sahara. SAMSUNG Q320 laptop keyboard
A number of Trans-African highways have been proposed across the Sahara, including the Cairo–Dakar Highway along the Atlantic coast, the Trans-Sahara Highway from Algiers on the Mediterranean to Kano in Nigeria, SONY VGN-FE48M laptop keyboard
the Tripoli – Cape Town Highway from Tripoli in Libya to N'Djamena in Chad, and the Cairo – Cape Town Highway which follows the Nile. Each of these highways is partially complete, with significant gaps and unpaved sections. TOSHIBA Satellite L550-ST2743 laptop keyboard
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara Desert. Politically, it consists of all African countries that are fully or partially located south of the Sahara (excluding Sudan).[2] DELL NSK-DB301 laptop keyboard
It contrasts with North Africa, which is considered a part of the Arab world.Somalia, Djibouti, Comoros and Mauritania are geographically part of Sub-Saharan Africa, but also part of the Arab world.[3][4]
The Sahel is the transitional zone between the Sahara and the tropical savanna (the Sudan region) andforest-savanna mosaic to the south. ASUS F3U laptop keyboard
Since probably the 5.9 kiloyear event,[5] the Saharan and Sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier interrupted by only the Nile River in Sudan, HP Pavilion dv5-1220ez laptop keyboard
though the Nile was blocked by the river's cataracts. The Sahara Pump Theoryexplains how flora and fauna (including Homo sapiens) left Africa to penetrate the Middle East and beyond. ACER Extensa 5635Z laptop keyboard [6]
The Sub-Saharan region is often referred to as Black Africa,[7] in reference to its numerous black populations. However, geographers historically divided the region into several distinct ethnographic sections based on each area's respective inhabitants.[8] HP Pavilion DV7-3173nr laptop keyboard
Commentators in Arabic in the medieval period used the general term bilâd as-sûdân ("Land of the Blacks") for the vastSudan region (an expression denoting West and Central Africa[9]), or sometimes extending from the coast of West Africa to Western Sudan.[10] Its equivalent in the southeast was Zanj ("Country of the Blacks"), HP Mini 110-3107sa laptop keyboard
which was situated in the vicinity of the Great Lakes region.[8][10] Also transliterated as Zenj or Zinj, it was inhabited by Bantu-speaking peoples called the Zanj.[8][11][12]
The geographers drew an explicit ethnographic distinction between the Sudan region and its analogue Zanj, Compaq Presario CQ56-110SM laptop keyboard
with the area to their extreme east on the Red Sea coast in the Horn of Africa.[8] In modern-day Ethiopia was Al-Habash or Abyssinia,[13] which was inhabited by the Habash or Abyssinians, who were the forebears of the Habesha.[14] TOSHIBA Satellite 1800-s208 laptop keyboard
In northern Somalia was Barbara or the Bilad al-Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), which was inhabited by the Eastern Baribah orBarbaroi, as the ancestors of the Somalis were referred to by medieval Arab and ancient Greek geographers, respectively.[8][11][15] HP Pavilion dv6-2165tx Laptop Keyboard
According to paleontology, early hominid skull anatomy was similar to their close cousins, the great African forestapes, HP G62-107SA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
gorilla and chimpanzee, but they had adopted a bipedal locomotion and freed hands giving them a crucial advantage enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open savanna at a time when Africa was drying up, with savanna encroaching on forested areas. This occurred 10 million to 5 million years ago.[17] SONY VAIO VGN-NW20SF Laptop Keyboard
By 3 million years ago several australopithecine (southern apes) hominid species had developed throughout southern, eastern and central Africa. They were tool users, not makers of tools. About 2.3 million BCE, HP G42-164LA Laptop Keyboard
the next major evolutionary step occurred when primitive stone tools were used to scavenge kills made by other predators and harvest carrion for their bones and marrow. In hunting, H. habilis was probably not capable of competing with large predators and was more prey than hunter, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard
although H. habilis probably did steal eggs from nests and may have been able to catch small game and weakened larger prey (cubs and older animals). The tools were classed as Oldowan.[18] SONY VAIO VGN-CR363 Laptop Keyboard
Around 1.8 million years ago, Homo ergaster first appeared in the fossil record in Africa. From Homo ergaster, Homo erectus (upright man) evolved 1.5 million years ago. Some of the earlier representatives of this species were small brained and used primitive stone tools, much like H. habilis. The brain later grew in size, and H. Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 Laptop Keyboard
erectus eventually developed a more complex stone tool technology called the Acheulean. Possibly the first hunters, H. erectusmastered the art of making fire and were the first hominids to leave Africa, SONY VGN-FE41M Laptop Keyboard
colonizing the entire Old World and perhaps later giving rise to Homo floresiensis. Although some recent writers suggest that H. georgicus, a H. habilis descendant, was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live outside Africa, many scientists consider H. georgicus to be an early and primitive member of the H. erectus species.[19] Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Laptop Keyboard
The fossil record shows Homo sapiens living in southern and eastern Africa at least 100,000 and possibly 150,000 years ago. SAMSUNG Q320 Laptop Keyboard
Around 50–60 millennia ago their expansion out of Africa launched the colonization of our planet by modern humans. By 10,000 BCE, Homo sapiens had spread to all corners of the world. Their migration is indicated by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence.[18][20][21] HP 636376-001 Laptop Keyboard
After the Sahara became a desert, it did not present a totally impenetrable barrier for travelers between north and south because of the application of animal husbandry towards carrying water, food, and supplies across the desert. SONY 148084122 Laptop Keyboard
Prior to the introduction of the camel,[22] the use of oxen, mule, and horses for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed chains of oases that were strung across the desert. The trans-saharan trade was in full motion by 500 BCE with Carthage being a major economic force for its establishment.[23][24][25] ACER Aspire 7740 Laptop Keyboard
It is thought that the camel was first brought to Egyptafter the Persian Empire conquered Egypt in 525 BCE, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa for camels to be the pack animal of choice for the trans-saharan trade.[26] DELL Vostro 3550 Laptop Keyboard
Kush and Nubia at her greatest phase is considered Sub-Saharan Africa's oldest urban civilization. Nubia was a major source of gold for the ancient world. ACER Aspire 5810T-8929 Laptop Keyboard
Nubians built famous structures like the Deffufa, mud brick temples similar to the ziggurats of Mesopotamia in material and function.[27] They built numerous pyramids. Sudan, the site of ancient Nubia, has more pyramids than anywhere in the world.[28] Compaq Presario CQ42-228LA Laptop Keyboard
The Axumite Empire spanned the southern Sahara and the Sahel along the western shore of the Red Sea. Located in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, Aksum was deeply involved in the trade network between India and the Mediterranean. Growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period ca. 4th century BCE, HP Pavilion DV7-3065dx Laptop Keyboard
it rose to prominence by the 1st century AD. The Aksumites constructed monolithic stelaes to cover the graves of their kings, such as King Ezana's Stele. The later Zagwe dynasty, established in the 12th century, built churches out of solid rock. These rock-hewn structures include the Church of St. George at Lalibela. DELL E141395 Laptop Keyboard
In ancient Somalia, city-states flourished such as Opone, Mosyllon and Malao that competed with the Sabaeans, Parthiansand Axumites for the wealthy Indo–Greco–Roman trade.[29]
In the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade including the Ajuuraan State, which excelled in hydraulic engineering and fortress building,[30] ACER Aspire 7745G Laptop Keyboard
the Sultanate of Adal, whose General Ahmed Gurey was the first African commander in history to use cannon warfare on the continent during Adal's conquest of the Ethiopian Empire,[31] and the Gobroon Dynasty, Compaq Presario CQ42-228LA Laptop Keyboard
whose military dominance forced governors of the Omani empirenorth of the city of Lamu to pay tribute to the Somali Sultan Ahmed Yusuf.[32] In the late 19th century after the Berlin conference had ended, European empires sailed with their armies to the Horn of Africa. HP G72-c55DX Laptop Keyboard
The imperial armies in Somalia alarmed the Dervish leader Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and began one of the longest colonial resistance wars ever. HP Pavilion dv6-3034tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Further south in East Africa, during the first millennium AD, Nilotic and Bantu-speaking peoples moved into the region, and the latter now comprise three-quarters of Kenya's population. Increased trade (namely with Arab merchants) and the development of ports helped birth of Swahili culture. FUJITSU Amilo Mini Ui 3520 laptop keyboard
Developed from an outgrowth of indigenous Bantu settlements,[33] the Swahili Coast of Kenya, Tanzania and northernMozambique was part of the east African region which traded with Persia, China, the Arab world, and India especially forivory and slaves. HP Pavilion dv6-2125el laptop keyboard
In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to reach the East African coast, and by 1525, the Portuguese had subdued the entire Swahili seaboard. Portuguese control lasted until the early 18th century when Arabs from Oman established a foothold in the region. HP Mini 210-2070ee laptop keyboard
Assisted by Somalis, Ottomans and Omani Arabs,[34] the indigenous coastal dwellers succeeded in driving the Portuguese from the area north of the Ruvuma River by the early 18th century.
In the forest zone, several states and empires emerged. The Ashanti Empire arose in the 16th century in modern day Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. SONY VAIO VGN-NW320F/T laptop keyboard
The oldest kingdom in Nigeria, the Kingdom of Nri, was established by the Igbo in the 11th century. Nri was famous for having a priest-king who wielded no military power. Nri was a rare African state as it never dealt in the trade of slaves. SONY VGN-FE11H laptop keyboard
All slaves and outcasts who sought refuge in their territory were freed. Other major states included the kingdoms ofIfẹ and Oyo in the western block of Nigeria which became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively, SONY VAIO VGN-AR320E laptop keyboard
and center of Yoruba culture. The Yoruba's built massive mud walls around their cities, the most famous being Sungbo's Eredo. Another prominent kingdom in southwestern Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. SAMSUNG Q320 laptop keyboard
Their dominance reached as far as the well known city of Eko which was named Lagos by the Portuguese traders and other early European settlers. The Edo speaking people of Benin are known for the Walls of Benin, which is the largest man-made structure in the world. HP G42-461LA laptop keyboard
In the 18th century, the Oyo and the Aro confederacy were responsible for most of the slaves exported from Nigeria, with Great Britain, France and Portugal shipping the majority of the slaves.[38] Following the Napoleonic Wars, SONY VAIO VGN-AW25GJ laptop keyboard
the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition, and in the following year the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of SirGeorge Taubman Goldie. SONY VAIO PCG-F50/BP laptop keyboard
In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British Government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On 1 January 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate, part of the British Empire, the foremost world power at the time.
By 1960, most of the region received independence from colonial rule. DELL Inspiron 1750 Laptop Keyboard
During the 14th century, the Luba Kingdom in southeast Congo came about under a king whose political authority came from religious spiritual legitimacy. The kingdom controlled agriculture and trade in the region of salt and iron from the north and copper from the Zambian/Congo copper belt.[39] HP 448159-001 Laptop Keyboard
Rival kingship factions which split from the Luba Kingdom later moved among the Lunda people, marrying into its elite and laying the foundation of the Lunda Empire in the 16th century. The ruling dynasty centralised authority among the Lunda under the Mwata Yamyo or Mwaant Yaav. The Mwata Yamyo's legitimacy, DELL Latitude E6500 Laptop Keyboard
like the Luba king, came from being viewed as a spiritual religious guardian. This system of religious spiritual kings was spread to most of central Africa by rivals in kingship migrating and forming new states. Many new states received legitimacy by claiming descent from the Lunda dynasties.[39] DELL Studio 1737 Laptop Keyboard
The Kingdom of Kongo existed from the Atlantic west to the Kwango river to the east. During the 15th century, the Bakongo farming community was united with the capital at Mbanza Kongo, under the king title, Manikongo.[39] DELL Inspiron 1521 Laptop Keyboard
Other significant states and peoples included the Kuba Kingdom, producers of the famous raffia cloth, the Eastern Lunda, Bemba, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Kingdom of Ndongo.
Monomotapa was a medieval kingdom (c. 1250–1629) DELL Alienware M17xR2 Laptop Keyboard
that used to exist between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers of Southern Africa, in the territory of modern-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Famous are the ruins at its old capital of Great Zimbabwe. ACER Travelmate 4152nlci Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to reach the southernmost tip of Africa. In 1652, a victualling station was established at the Cape of Good Hope by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, the slowly expanding settlement was a Dutch possession. HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard
Great Britain seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1795, ostensibly to prevent it from falling into the hands of the French but also to use Cape Town in particular as a stop on the route to Australia and India. It was later returned to the Dutch in 1803, HP Mini 110-1120LA Laptop Keyboard
but soon afterwards the Dutch East India Company declared bankruptcy, and the British annexed theCape Colony in 1806.
The Zulu Kingdom (1817–79) was a Southern African tribal state in what is now Kwa-Zulu Natal in southeastern South Africa. The small kingdom gained world fame during and after the Anglo-Zulu War. ACER Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard
During the 1950s and early 1960s, most Sub-Saharan African nations achieved independence from colonial rule.[40]
The Sub-Saharan African countries form the bulk of the ACP countries. Malaria is a chronic impediment to economic development. ACER TravelMate 4100 Laptop Keyboard
The disease slows growth by about 1.3% per year through lost time caused by illness and the cost of treatment and prevention measures. According to the World Bank, the region's GDP would have been 32% higher in 2003 had the disease been eradicated in 1960.[41] HP Envy 15 Laptop Keyboard
The population of Sub-Saharan Africa was 800 million in 2007.[42] The current growth rate is 2.3%. The UN predicts for the region a population of nearly 1.5 billion in 2050.[43]
Sub-Saharan African countries top the list of countries and territories by fertility rate with 40 of the highest 50, all with TFR greater than 4 in 2008. DELL Precision M4500 Laptop Keyboard
All are above the world average except South Africa. Figures for life expectancy, malnourishment, infant mortality and HIV/AIDS infections are also dramatic. More than 40% of the population in sub-Saharan countries is younger than 15 years old, as well as in the Sudan with the exception of South Africa.[44] DELL PK130801B00 Laptop Keyboard
Sub-Saharan Africa has a very high child mortality rate. While in 2002, 17% of children died before the age of five,[45] by 2007 this rate had declined to 15%.[46] The leading cause of death was malaria infection.[41] HP Pavilion DV6-1030us Laptop Keyboard
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa has grown at an average of 146% annually over the last 22 years to reach US$36 billion in 2007, while trade between Africa and the rest of the world (particularly Asia) has been steadily increasing. HP Probook 4520S Laptop Keyboard
Bilateral trade between China and Africa jumped 45% in 2008 to reach US$107 billion, the bulk of which went to Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres (41,100,000 sq mi),[1] SONY 147977821 Laptop Keyboard
it covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas". SONY 147963021 Laptop Keyboard
The oldest known mention of "Atlantic" is in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4):Atlantis thalassa (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα; English: Sea of Atlas). The term Ethiopic Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, was applied to the southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century.[2] SONY VAIO VGN-CS16M/P laptop keyboard
Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term "ocean" itself was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that we now know as the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling the world. Lenovo 3000 Y510a 15303 laptop keyboard
The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia andAfrica to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected global ocean, HP Pavilion dv6-2030ev laptop keyboard
it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south (other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica). The equator subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean. DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
The Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. HP Pavilion dv6-2060ea laptop keyboard
To the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe; the Strait of Gibraltar (where it connects with the Mediterranean Sea–one of its marginal seas–and, in turn, the Black Sea, both of which also touch upon Asia) and Africa. HP Pavilion dv6-2155ee laptop keyboard
In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean. The 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. Some authorities show it extending south to Antarctica, while others show it bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean.[3] DELL Latitude E5410 laptop keyboard
In the southwest, the Drake Passage connects it to the Pacific Ocean. The man-made Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific. Besides those mentioned, other large bodies of water adjacent to the Atlantic are the Caribbean Sea; the Gulf of Mexico; Hudson Bay; the Arctic Ocean; the Mediterranean Sea; the North Sea; the Baltic Sea and theCeltic Sea. ACER TravelMate 3020 laptop keyboard
Covering approximately 22% of Earth's surface, the Atlantic is second in size to the Pacific. With its adjacent seas, it occupies an area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres (41,100,000 sq mi);[1] without them, ACER TravelMate 2403 Series laptop keyboard
it has an area of 82,400,000 square kilometres (31,800,000 sq mi). The land that drains into the Atlantic covers four times that of either the Pacific or Indian oceans. The volume of the Atlantic with its adjacent seas is 354,700,000 cubic kilometers (85,100,000 cu mi) and without them 323,600,000 cubic kilometres (77,640,000 cu mi). HP pavilion DV7-1029eg laptop keyboard
The average depth of the Atlantic, with its adjacent seas, is 3,339 metres (1,826 fathoms; 10,950 ft); without them it is 3,926 metres (2,147 fathoms; 12,880 ft). The greatest depth, Milwaukee Deep with 8,380 metres (4,580 fathoms; 27,500 ft), HP Pavilion DV6-1122us laptop keyboard
is in the Puerto Rico Trench. The Atlantic's width varies from 1,538 nautical miles (2,848 km; 1,770 mi) between Brazil and Sierra Leone to over 3,450 nautical miles (6,400 km; 4,000 mi) in the south.[citation needed] SONY VAIO VGN-FS315M laptop keyboard
from the "New World". In modern times, some idioms refer to the ocean in a humorously diminutive way as the Pond, describing both the geographical and cultural divide between North America and Europe, DELL PK130801B00 laptop keyboard
in particular between the English-speaking nations of both continents. Many British people refer to the United States and Canada as "across the pond", and vice versa.[4]
The "Black Atlantic" refers to the role of this ocean in shaping black people's history, not least in diasporas. Irish migration to the US is meant when the term "The Green Atlantic" is used. TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5163 laptop keyboard
The "Red Atlantic" is a relatively new term that refers to seafarers as proletarians and revolutionaries who historically resisted exploitation at sea and forged a new multicultural and polyglot Atlantic working-class. [5] HP Pavilion dv5t-1200se CTO laptop keyboard
The principal feature of the bathymetry (bottom topography) is a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.[6] It extends from Iceland in the north to approximately 58° South latitude, reaching a maximum width of about 860 nautical miles (1,590 km; 990 mi). COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
A great rift valley also extends along the ridge over most of its length. The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than 2,700 metres (1,500 fathoms; 8,900 ft) in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep. Several peaks rise above the water and form islands.[7] The South Atlantic Ocean has an additional submarine ridge, the Walvis Ridge.[8] HP G72-b60US Laptop Keyboard
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge separates the Atlantic Ocean into two large troughs with depths from 3,700–5,500 metres (2,000–3,000 fathoms; 12,000–18,000 ft). Transverse ridges running between the continents and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge divide the ocean floor into numerous basins. Some of the larger basins are the Blake, Guiana, North American, HP 519265-001 Laptop Keyboard
Cape Verde, and Canaries basins in the North Atlantic. The largest South Atlantic basins are the Angola, Cape, Argentina, and Brazil basins.
The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat with occasional deeps, abyssal plains, trenches, seamounts, basins,plateaus, canyons, and some guyots. COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
Various shelves along the margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography with few deep channels cut across the continental rise.
On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3 – 3.7%)Lenovo Thinkpad T420 Laptop Keyboard
by mass and varies with latitude and season. Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and sea ice melting influence surface salinity values. Although the lowest salinity values are just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), TOSHIBA Satellite A305 Laptop Keyboard
in general the lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south, in subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation. Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below −2 °C (28 °F). Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, Lenovo 39T7417 Laptop Keyboard
and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by 7–8 °C (12–15°F).
The Atlantic Ocean consists of four major water masses. The North and South Atlantic central waters make up the surface. DELL Vostro 3450 Laptop Keyboard
The sub-Antarctic intermediate water extends to depths of 1,000 metres (550 fathoms; 3,300 ft). The North Atlantic Deep Water reaches depths of as much as 4,000 metres (2,200 fathoms; 13,000 ft). The Antarctic Bottom Wateroccupies ocean basins at depths greater than 4,000 metres. HP Mini 210-1014TU Laptop Keyboard
Within the North Atlantic, ocean currents isolate the Sargasso Sea, a large elongated body of water, with above average salinity. The Sargasso Sea contains large amounts of seaweed and is also the spawning ground for both the European eeland the American eel. HP Pavilion DV6-1002tx Laptop Keyboard
The Coriolis effect circulates North Atlantic water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Atlantic water circulates counter-clockwise. The south tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur during each 24 lunar hours. In latitudes above 40° North some east-west oscillation occurs. HP 519265-001 Laptop Keyboard
Climate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds. Because of the ocean's great capacity to store and release heat, maritime climates are more moderate and have less extreme seasonal variations than inland climates. SONY VAIO VGN-NW110D laptop keyboard
Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures.
The oceans are the major source of the atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; SONY VAIO VGN-N250E/B laptop keyboard
the warmest zones stretch across the Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents influence climate by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. The winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents influence adjacent land areas. HP G42-475TU laptop keyboard
The Gulf Stream and its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, for example, warms the atmosphere of the British Isles and north-western Europe and influences weather and climate as far south as the northern Mediterranean. HP G62-a25SI laptop keyboard
The cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of eastern Canada (the Grand Banks of Newfoundland area) and Africa's north-western coast. In general, winds transport moisture and air over land areas.Hurricanes develop in the southern part of the North Atlantic Ocean. IBM Thinkpad R40 laptop keyboard
More local particular weather examples could be found in examples such as the; Azores High, Benguela Current, Nor'easter.
The Atlantic Ocean appears to be the second youngest of the five oceans. It did not exist prior to 130 million years ago, HP Pavilion DV7-3186cl laptop keyboard
when the continents that formed from the breakup of the ancestral super continent Pangaea were drifting apart from seafloor spreading. The Atlantic has been extensively explored since the earliest settlements along its shores. SONY VAIO VGN-N320E/W laptop keyboard
The Vikings, the Portuguese, and the Spaniards were the most famous among early explorers. After Columbus, European exploration rapidly accelerated, and many new trade routes were established. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop keyboard
As a result, the Atlantic became and remains the major artery between Europe and the Americas (known as transatlantic trade). Scientific explorations include the Challenger expedition, the German Meteor expedition, Columbia University'sLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the United States Navy Hydrographic Office.
HP Pavilion dv6-2170eo laptop keyboard
A clockwise warm-water gyre occupies the northern Atlantic, and a counter-clockwise warm-water gyre appears in the southern Atlantic. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin, HP Pavilion DV7-3067cl laptop keyboard
first discovered by the Challenger Expedition dominates the ocean floor. This was formed by the vulcanism that also formed the ocean floor and the islands rising from it. TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5153 laptop keyboard
The Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. These include the Norwegian Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea, Labrador Sea, Black Sea, Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Maine, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. HP Pavilion DV7-3180us laptop keyboard
Islands include Newfoundland (including hundreds of surrounding islands), Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Great Britain (including numerous surrounding islands), Ireland, Rockall, Sable Island, Azores, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Madeira, SONY VAIO VGN-FW11S laptop keyboard
Bermuda, Canary Islands, Caribbean, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe,Annobón Province, Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Trindade and Martim Vaz, Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island (Also known as Diego Alvarez), Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, South Georgia Island, South Sandwich Islands, and Bouvet Island. HP Pavilion dv6-2170ee laptop keyboard
Icebergs are common from February to August in the Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and Madeira. DELL XPS 15 L502X Laptop Keyboard
Ships are subject to superstructure icing in the extreme north from October to May. Persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September, as can hurricanes north of the equator (May to December). DELL Vostro 1015 Laptop Keyboard
The United States' southeast coast has a long history of shipwrecks due to its many shoals and reefs. The Virginia and North Carolina coasts were particularly dangerous.
The Bermuda Triangle is popularly believed to be the site of numerous aviation and shipping incidents because of unexplained and supposedly mysterious causes, but Coast Guard records do not support this belief. HP 643263-001 Laptop Keyboard
Hurricanes are also a natural hazard in the Atlantic, but mainly in the northern part of the ocean, rarely tropical cyclones form in the southern parts. Hurricanes usually form between 1 June and 30 November of every year. SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north ofChad, with a small extension into southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard
lies to the south at a height of 3,445 meters (11,302 ft) and is the highest point in both Chad and the Sahara. Bikku Bitti, the highest peak in Libya, is located in the north of the range. The central third of the Tibesti is of volcanic origin and consists of five shield volcanoes topped by large craters: Emi Koussi, IBM 42T4026 laptop keyboard
Tarso Toon, Tarso Voon, Tarso Yega, and Toussidé. Major lava flows have formed vast plateaus that overlie Paleozoic sandstone. The volcanic activity was the result of a continental hotspot that arose during the Oligocene and continued in some places until the Holocene, creating fumaroles, hot springs, mud pools, Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 laptop keyboard
and deposits of natron and sulfur.Erosion has shaped volcanic spires and carved an extensive network of canyons through which run rivers subject to highly irregular flows that are rapidly lost to the desert sands.
Packard Bell Easynote TM98 laptop keyboard
The Toubou live mainly along the wadis, on rare oases where palm trees and limited grains grow. They harness the water that collects in gueltas, the supply of which is highly variable from year-to-year and decade-to-decade. SONY VAIO VGN-N21E/W laptop keyboard
The plateaus are used to graze livestock in the winter and harvest grain in the summer. Temperatures are high, although the altitude ensures that the range is cooler than the surrounding desert. The Toubou, who first appeared in the range in the 5th century BC, adapted to these conditions and turned the range into a large natural fortress. HP Pavilion DV7T-4100 laptop keyboard
They arrived in several waves, taking refuge in times of conflict and dispersing in times of prosperity, although not without intense internal hostility at times. The Toubou came into contact with theCarthaginians, Berbers, Tuaregs, Ottomans and the Arabs, as well as the French colonists who first entered the range in 1914 and took control of the area in 1929. SONY VAIO VGN-FS215E laptop keyboard
The independent spirit of the Toubou and the geopolitical situation in the region has complicated the exploration of the range as well as the ascent of its peaks. SONY Vaio PCG-K23 laptop keyboard
Tensions continued after Chad and Libya gained independence in the mid-20th century, with hostage taking and armed struggles occurring amid border disputes over the allocation of natural resources. The geopolitical situation and the lack of infrastructure has hampered the development of tourism. DELL NSK-DB301 laptop keyboard
TOSHIBA P205-S7469 laptop keyboard
HP 6730S laptop keyboard
The Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى, aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Kubrā , 'the Great Desert') is the world's hottest desert, and the third largest desert after Antarctica and the Arctic.[1] At over 9,400,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi), it covers most of North Africa, making it almost as large as China or the United States. Lenovo 04W2236 Laptop Keyboard
The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of theAtlantic Ocean. To the south, it is delimited by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna that composes the northern region of central and western Sub-Saharan Africa.
Some of the sand dunes can reach 180 metres (590 ft) in height.[2] Compaq 6720s Laptop Keyboard
The name comes from the plural Arabic language word for desert (صحارى ṣaḥārā [3][4] [ˈsˤɑħɑ:rɑ:]).[5][6]
The Sahara's boundaries are the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean on the north, the Red Sea on the east, and the Sudan (region) and the valley of the Niger River on the south. SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard
The Sahara is divided into western Sahara, the central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Aïr Mountains (a region of desert mountains and high plateaus), Ténéré desert and the Libyan Desert (the most arid region). SAMSUNG Q330-JA02 Laptop Keyboard
The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi (3,415 metres (11,204 ft)) in the Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad.
The Sahara is the largest desert on the African continent. The southern border of the Sahara is marked by a band of semiarid savanna called the Sahel; DELL V119525BS1 Laptop Keyboard
south of the Sahel lies Southern Sudan and the Congo River Basin. Most of the Sahara consists of rocky hamada; ergs (large areas covered with sand dunes) form only a minor part. Lenovo Thinkpad T520 Laptop Keyboard
People lived on the edge of the desert thousands of years ago[7] since the last ice age. The Sahara was then a much wetter place than it is today. Over 30,000 petroglyphs of river animals such as crocodiles [8] survive, with half found in the Tassili n'Ajjer in southeast Algeria. Fossils of dinosaurs, including Afrovenator, DELL INSPIRON 1464 Laptop Keyboard
Jobaria andOuranosaurus, have also been found here. The modern Sahara, though, is not lush in vegetation, except in the NileValley, at a few oases, and in the northern highlands, where Mediterranean plants such as the olive tree are found to grow. The region has been this way since about 1600 BC, HP Mini 110-3101tu Laptop Keyboard
after shifts in the Earth's axis increased temperatures and decreased precipitation.[9] Then, due to a climate change, the savannah changed into the sandy desert as we know it now.[citation needed] DELL Latitude D620 Laptop Keyboard
Dominant ethnicities in the Sahara are various Berber groups including Tuareg tribes, various Arabized Berber groups such as the Hassaniya-speaking Maure (Moors, also known as Sahrawis, whose more known tribes are the Reguibat and theZnaga), including Toubou, Nubians, Zaghawa, Kanuri, Hausa, Songhai, and Fula/Fulani (French: Peul; Fula: Fulɓe). HP Mini 1001TU Laptop Keyboard
Important cities located in the Sahara include Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania; Tamanrasset, Ouargla, Béchar,Hassi Messaoud, Ghardaïa, and El Oued in Algeria; Timbuktu in Mali; Agadez in Niger; Ghat in Libya; and Faya-Largeau in Chad. COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
The Sahara covers large parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudanand Tunisia. It is one of three distinct physiographic provinces of the African massive physiographic division. ACER Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard
The desert landforms of the Sahara are shaped by wind or by occasional rains and include sand dunes and dune fields orsand seas (erg), stone plateaus (hamada), gravel plains (reg), dry valleys, and salt flats (shatt or chott). DELL F484C Laptop Keyboard
[10]Unusual landforms include the Richat Structure in Mauritania.
Several deeply dissected mountains and mountain ranges, many volcanic, rise from the desert, including the Aïr Mountains, TOSHIBA Satellite L750-ST4N02 Laptop Keyboard
Ahaggar Mountains, Saharan Atlas, Tibesti Mountains, Adrar des Iforas, and the Red Sea hills. The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi, a shield volcano in the Tibesti range of northern Chad.
Most of the rivers and streams in the Sahara are seasonal or intermittent, SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
the chief exception being the Nile River, which crosses the desert from its origins in central Africa to empty into the Mediterranean. Underground aquiferssometimes reach the surface, forming oases, including the Bahariya, Ghardaïa, Timimoun, Kufra, and Siwa. LENOVO Ideapad Y450 laptop keyboard
The central part of the Sahara is hyper-arid, with little vegetation. The northern and southern reaches of the desert, along with the highlands, have areas of sparse grassland and desert shrub, with trees and taller shrubs in wadis where moisture collects. Lenovo Ideapad G560 laptop keyboard
To the north, the Sahara reaches to the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt and portions of Libya, but in Cyrenaica and theMaghreb, the Sahara borders Mediterranean forest, woodland, and scrub ecoregions of northern Africa, which have aMediterranean climate characterized by a winter rainy season. GATEWAY MT6730 laptop keyboard
According to the botanical criteria of Frank White[11]and geographer Robert Capot-Rey,[12][13] the northern limit of the Sahara corresponds to the northern limit of date palmcultivation and the southern limit of esparto, a grass typical of the Mediterranean climate portion of the Maghreb andIberia. The northern limit also corresponds to the 100 mm (3.9 in) isohyet of annual precipitation.[14] SAMSUNG R520 laptop keyboard
To the south, the Sahara is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of dry tropical savanna with a summer rainy season that extends across Africa from east to west. The southern limit of the Sahara is indicated botanically by the southern limit of Cornulaca monacantha (a drought-tolerant member of the Chenopodiaceae), TOSHIBA Tecra M10-S1001 laptop keyboard
or northern limit of Cenchrus biflorus, a grass typical of the Sahel.[12][13] According to climatic criteria, the southern limit of the Sahara corresponds to the 150 mm (5.9 in) isohyet of annual precipitation (this is a long-term average, since precipitationvaries annually).[14] SONY VAIO VGN-CS15GN/B laptop keyboard
The climate of the Sahara has undergone enormous variations between wet and dry over the last few hundred thousand years.[15] This is due to a 41000 year cycle in which the tilt of the earth changes between 22° and 24.5°.[16] SONY VAIO VGN-CS17G/Q laptop keyboard
At present (2000 AD), we are in a dry period, but it is expected that the Sahara will become green again in 15000 years (17000 AD).
During the last glacial period, the Sahara was even bigger than it is today, extending south beyond its current boundaries.[17] TOSHIBA Satellite P305-S8822 laptop keyboard
The end of the glacial period brought more rain to the Sahara, from about 8000 BC to 6000 BC, perhaps because of low pressure areas over the collapsing ice sheets to the north.[18]
Once the ice sheets were gone, HP Pavilion DV7-3173nr laptop keyboard
the northern Sahara dried out. In the southern Sahara though, the drying trend was soon counteracted by the monsoon, which brought rain further north than it does today. In this period, there was still amonsoon climate in the Sahara. Monsoons form by heating of air over the land during summer. The hot air rises and pulls in cool, SONY VAIO VGN-FS840 laptop keyboard
wet air from the ocean, which causes rain. Thus, though it seems counterintuitive, the Sahara was wetter when it received more insolation in the summer. This was caused by a stronger tilt in Earth's axis of orbit than today (24.5 degree tilt vs the 23.4° tilt today[19]), and perihelion occurred at the end of July around 7000 BC.[20] SONY VAIO VGN-CR220E laptop keyboard
By around 4200 BC, the monsoon retreated south to approximately where it is today,[9] leading to the gradual desertification of the Sahara.[21] The Sahara is now as dry as it was about 13,000 years ago.[15] These conditions are responsible for what has been called the Sahara pump theory. HP Mini 210-2015la laptop keyboard
The Sahara has one of the harshest climates in the world. The prevailing north-easterly wind often causes sand storms and dust devils.[22] When this wind reaches the Mediterranean, it is known as sirocco and often reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa and southern Europe. Half of the Sahara receives less than 20 mm (0.79 in) Packard Bell NEW90 laptop keyboard
of rain per year, and the rest receives up to 100 mm (3.9 in) per year.[23] The rainfall happens very rarely, but when it does it is usually torrential when it occurs after long dry periods.
The southern boundary of the Sahara, as measured by rainfall, DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
was observed to both advance and retreat between 1980 and 1990. As a result of drought in the Sahel, the southern boundary moved south 130 kilometers (81 mi) overall during that period.[24]
Recent signals indicate that the Sahara and surrounding regions are greening because of increased rainfall. HP 594706-001 Laptop Keyboard
Satellite imaging shows extensive regreening of the Sahel between 1982 and 2002, and in both Eastern and Western Sahara a more than 20-year-long trend of increased grazing areas and flourishing trees and shrubs has been observed by climate scientist Stefan Kröpelin.[25]
On February 18, 1979, TOSHIBA Mini NB 305 Series Laptop Keyboard
snow fell in several places in southern Algeria, including a half-hour snowstorm that stopped traffic in Ghardaïa, and was reported as being "for the first time in living memory".[26] The snow was gone within hours.[27] HP Pavilion DV7-3065dx Laptop Keyboard
Several Saharan mountain ranges, however, receive snow more regularly. Although relative humidity is low in the arid environment, the absolute humidity is high enough for moisture to condense when driven up a mountain range. In winter, temperatures drop low enough on the Tahat summit to cause snow on average every three years; HP 636376-001 Laptop Keyboard
the Tibesti Mountains receive snow on peaks over 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) once every seven years on average.[28][29]
The Sahara comprises several distinct ecoregions, and with their variations in temperature, rainfall, elevation, and soil, they harbor distinct communities of plants and animals. TOSHIBA Satellite L755-SP5102CL Laptop Keyboard
The Atlantic coastal desert is a narrow strip along the Atlantic coast, where fog generated offshore by the coolCanary Current provides sufficient moisture to sustain a variety of lichens, succulents, and shrubs. It covers 39,900 square kilometers (15,400 sq mi) in Western Sahara and Mauritania.[31] HP AESP7U00110 Laptop Keyboard
The North Saharan steppe and woodlands is along the northern desert, next to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of the northern Maghreb and Cyrenaica. Winter rains sustain shrublands SONY VGN-FE670G Laptop Keyboard
and dry woodlands that form a transition between the Mediterranean climate regions to the north and the hyper-arid Sahara proper to the south. It covers 1,675,300 square kilometers (646,800 sq mi) in Algeria, Egypt, HP G42-164LA Laptop Keyboard
Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.[32]
The Sahara desert ecoregion covers the hyper-arid central portion of the Sahara where rainfall is minimal and sporadic. Vegetation is rare, and this ecoregion consists mostly of sand dunes (erg, chech, raoui), stone plateaus (hamadas), HP Mini 110-3130nr Laptop Keyboard
gravel plains (reg), dry valleys (wadis), and salt flats. It covers 4,639,900 square km (1,791,500 square miles) of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Sudan.[10]
The South Saharan steppe and woodlands ecoregion is a narrow band running east and west between the hyper-arid Sahara and the Sahel savannas to the south. HP Probook 4515S Laptop Keyboard
Movements of the equatorial Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) bring summer rains during July and August which average 100 to 200 mm (3.9 to 7.9 in) but vary greatly from year to year. These rains sustain summer pastures of grasses and herbs, with dry woodlands and shrublands along seasonal watercourses. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
This ecoregion covers 1,101,700 km2 (425,400 mi2) in Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Sudan.[33]
In the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands, several volcanic highlands provide a cooler, moister environment that supports Saharo-Mediterranean woodlands and shrublands. The ecoregion covers 258,100 km2 (99,700 mi2), COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
mostly in the Tassili n'Ajjer of Algeria, with smaller enclaves in the Aïr of Niger, the Dhar Adrar of Mauritania, and the Adrar des Iforas of Mali and Algeria.[34]
The Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands ecoregion consists of the Tibesti and Jebel Uweinat highlands. HP Mini 110-1135TU Laptop Keyboard
Higher and more regular rainfall and cooler temperatures support woodlands and shrublands of palms, acacias, myrtle, oleander, tamarix, and several rare and endemic plants. The ecoregion covers 82,200 km2 (31,700 mi2) in the Tibesti of Chad and Libya, and Jebel Uweinat on the border of Egypt, Libya, and Sudan.[35] SONY VAIO VGN-CR520E Laptop Keyboard
The Saharan halophytics is an area of seasonally flooded saline depressions which is home to halophytic (salt-adapted) plant communities. ACER TravelMate 3270 laptop keyboard
The Saharan halophytics cover 54,000 km2 (20,800 mi2), including the Qattara and Siwa depressions in northern Egypt, the Tunisian salt lakes of central Tunisia, Chott Melghir in Algeria, and smaller areas of Algeria, Mauritania, and Western Sahara.[36] HP Pavilion dm1-1000 laptop keyboard
The Tanezrouft is one of the harshest regions on Earth and the driest in the Sahara, with no vegetation and very little life. It is along the borders of Algeria, Niger and Mali, west of the Hoggar mountains. SONY VAIO VGN-CR Laptop Keyboard
Several species of fox live in the Sahara, including the fennec fox, pale fox and Rüppell's fox. The addax, a large white antelope, can go nearly a year in the desert without drinking. The dorcas gazelle is a north African gazelle that can also go for a long time without water. Other notable gazelles include the Rhim gazelle and dama gazelle. HP Pavilion dv5-1030ev laptop keyboard
The Saharan cheetah (northwest African cheetah) lives in Algeria, Togo, Niger, Mali, Benin, and Burkina Faso. There remain less than 250 mature cheetahs which are very cautious, fleeing any human presence. The cheetah avoids the sun from April to October, seeking the shelter of shrubs such as balanites and acacias. They are unusually pale.[37][38] SONY VAIO VGN-FS115Z laptop keyboard
Other animals include the monitor lizards, hyrax, sand vipers, and small populations of African wild dog,[39] in perhaps only 14 countries[40] and ostrich. There exist other animals in the Sahara (birds in particular) such as African silverbill and black-faced firefinch, among others. There are also small desert crocodiles in Mauritania and the Ennedi Plateau of Chad.[41] ASUS X53S laptop keyboard
The central Sahara is estimated to include five hundred species of plants, which is extremely low considering the huge extent of the area. Plants such as acacia trees, palms, succulents, spiny shrubs, and grasses have adapted to the arid conditions, by growing lower to avoid water loss by strong winds, Packard Bell PEW91 laptop keyboard
by storing water in their thick stems to use it in dry periods, by having long roots that travel horizontally to reach the maximum area of water and to find any surface moisture and by having small thick leaves or needles to prevent water loss by evapo-transpiration. Plant leaves may dry out totally and then recover. Lenovo IdeaPad Y430a laptop keyboard
Human activities are more likely to affect the habitat in areas of permanent water (oases) or where water comes close to the surface. Here, the local pressure on natural resources can be intense. Lenovo 0A62039 laptop keyboard
The remaining populations of large mammals have been greatly reduced by hunting for food and recreation. In recent years development projects have started in the deserts of Algeria and Tunisia using irrigated water pumped from underground aquifers. These schemes often lead to soil degradation and salinization. HP Pavilion dv6-2141ee laptop keyboard
During the Neolithic Era, before the onset of desertification, around 9500 BC the central Sudan had been a rich environment supporting a large population ranging across what is now barren desert, like the Wadi el-Qa'ab. HP Mini 110-3014tu laptop keyboard
By the 5th millennium BC, the peoples who inhabited what is now called Nubia, were full participants in the "agricultural revolution", living a settled lifestyle with domesticated plants and animals. Saharan rock art of cattle and herdsmen suggests the presence of a cattle cult like those found in Sudan and other pastoral societies in Africa today.[42] SONY VAIO VGN-N365E/B laptop keyboard
Megaliths found at Nabta Playa are overt examples of probably the world's first known archaeoastronomydevices, predating Stonehenge by some 2,000 years.[43] This complexity, as observed at Nabta Playa, SONY VAIO VGN-FS640/W laptop keyboard
and as expressed by different levels of authority within the society there, likely formed the basis for the structure of both the Neolithic society at Nabta and the Old Kingdom of Egypt.[44]
By 6000 BC predynastic Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and constructing large buildings. DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
Subsistence in organized and permanent settlements in predynastic Egypt by the middle of the 6th millennium BC centered predominantly on cereal and animal agriculture: cattle, goats, pigs and sheep. Metal objects replaced prior ones of stone. SONY VAIO VGN-NW235D laptop keyboard
Tanning of animal skins, pottery and weaving were commonplace in this era also.[45] There are indications of seasonal or only temporary occupation of the Al Fayyum in the 6th millennium BC, with food activities centering on fishing, hunting and food-gathering. Stone arrowheads, knives and scrapers from the era are commonly found.[46] HP Mini 110-1135TU laptop keyboard
Burial items included pottery, jewelry, farming and hunting equipment, and assorted foods including dried meat and fruit. Burial in desert environments appears to enhance Egyptian preservation rites, and dead were buried facing due west.[45] SONY VAIO VGN-CR23G laptop keyboard
By 3400 BC, the Sahara was as dry as it is today, due to reduced precipitation and higher temperatures resulting from a shift in the Earth's orbit,[9] and it became a largely impenetrable barrier to humans, with only scattered settlements around the oases but little trade or commerce through the desert. The one major exception was the Nile Valley. TOSHIBA 9J.N7482.901 Laptop Keyboard
The Nile, however, was impassable at several cataracts, making trade and contact by boat difficult.
An urban civilization, the Garamantes, arose around 500 BC in the heart of the Sahara, in a valley that is now called the Wadi al-Ajal in Fezzan, Libya.[15] SONY VAIO VGN-AR770 laptop keyboard
The Garamantes achieved this development by digging tunnels far into the mountains flanking the valley to tap fossil water and bring it to their fields. The Garamantes grew populous and strong, conquering their neighbors and capturing many slaves (which were put to work extending the tunnels). ACER Aspire 5005WLMi Laptop Keyboard
The ancient Greeks and the Romans knew of the Garamantes and regarded them as uncivilized nomads. However, they traded with the Garamantes, and a Roman bath has been found in the Garamantes capital of Garama. SAMSUNG NP-Q320-AS01UK Laptop Keyboard
Archaeologists have found eight major towns and many other important settlements in the Garamantes territory. The Garamantes civilization eventually collapsed after they had depleted available water in the aquifers and could no longer sustain the effort to extend the tunnels further into the mountains.[47] HP G62-455TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The Byzantine Empire ruled the northern shores of the Sahara from the 5th to the 7th century. When the Islamic conquest of North Africa began in the mid 7th to early 8th centuries, an Arabic and Islamic influence expanded rapidly on the Sahara. By the end of 641 all of Egypt was in Arab hands. The trade across the desert intensified. HP 532617-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The kingdoms of the Sahel, especially the Ghana Empire and the Mali Empire, grew rich and powerful exporting gold and salt to North Africa. The emirates along the Mediterranean Sea sent manufactured goods and horses south . DELL Latitude D830 Laptop Keyboard
From the Sahara itself, salt was exported. This process turned the scattered oasis communities into trading centres and brought them under the control of the empires on the edge of the desert. A significant slave trade crossed the desert. It has been estimated that from the 10th to the 19th century some 6,000 to 7,000 slaves were transported north each year.[49] DELL Latitude D620 Laptop Keyboard
This trade through Sahara persisted for several centuries until the development in Europe of the caravel allowed ships, first from Portugal and soon from all of Western Europe, to sail around the desert and gather the resources from the source inGuinea. ACER Travelmate 4670 Laptop Keyboard
The Sahara was rapidly marginalized.
From 16th century the northern fringe of the Sahara, such as coastal regencies in present day Algeria and Tunisia, as well as some parts of present-day Libya, together with the semi-autonomous kingdom of Egypt, TOSHIBA Satellite L550-ST5701 Laptop Keyboard
were occupied by the Ottoman Empire. From1517 Egypt was a valued part of the Ottoman Empire, ownership of which provided the Ottomans with control over the Nile Valley, the east Mediterranean and North Africa. DELL NSK-DB301 Laptop Keyboard
The benefit of the Ottoman Empire was the freedom of movement for citizens and goods. Trade exploited the Ottoman land routes to handle the spice, gold and silk from the East, manufactures from Europe and the slave and gold traffic from Africa. Arabic continued as the local language and Islamic culture was much reinforced. HP Pavilion DV7-3186cl Laptop Keyboard
The Sahel and southern Sahara regions were home to several independent states or home to roaming Tuareg clans.
European colonialism[edit] HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard
European colonialism in the Sahara began in the 19th century. France conquered the regency of Algiers from the Ottomans in 1830, and French rule spread south from Algeria and eastwards from Senegal into the upper Niger to include present-day Algeria, HP Pavilion dv6-2020ca Laptop Keyboard
Chad, Mali then French Sudan including Timbuktu, Mauritania, Morocco (1912), Niger, and Tunisia (1881).
The French Colonial Empire was the dominant presence in the Sahara. It established regular air links from Toulouse (HQ of famed Aéropostale), Compaq 6720s Laptop Keyboard
to Oran and over the Hoggar to Timbuktu and West to Bamako and Dakar, as well as trans-Sahara bus services run by La Companie Transsaharienne (est. 1927).[50] A remarkable film shot by famous aviator Captain René Wauthier documents the first crossing by a large truck convoy from Algiers to Tchad, across the Sahara.[51] SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard
Egypt, under Muhammad Ali and his successors, conquered Nubia in 1820–22, founded Khartoum in 1823, and conquered Darfur in 1874. HP Pavilion G7-1150US Laptop Keyboard
Egypt, including the Sudan, became a British protectorate in 1882. Egypt and Britain lost control of the Sudan from 1882 to 1898 as a result of the Mahdist War. After its capture by British troops in 1898, the Sudan became an Anglo-Egyptian condominium. SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard
Spain captured present-day Western Sahara after 1874, although Rio del Oro remained largely under Tuareg influence. In 1912, Italy captured parts of what was to be named Libya from the Ottomans. To promote the Roman Catholic religion in the desert, HP G62-361TX Laptop Keyboard
ope Pius IX appointed a delegate Apostolic of the Sahara and the Sudan in 1868 ; later in the 19th century his jurisdiction was reorganized into the Vicariate Apostolic of Sahara.
1936 allowed Britain to keep troops in Egypt and to maintain the British-Egyptian condominium in the Sudan. British military forces were withdrawn in 1954. SONY VAIO VGN-CR140F Laptop Keyboard
Most of the Saharan states achieved independence after World War II: Libya in 1951, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia in 1956, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger in 1960, and Algeria in 1962. Spain withdrew from Western Sahara in 1975, and it was partitioned between Mauritania and Morocco. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, and Morocco continues to hold the territory. HP Mini 110-3004tu laptop keyboard
In the post-World War II era, several mines and communities have developed to utilize the desert's natural resources. These include large deposits of oil andnatural gas in Algeria and Libya and large deposits of phosphates in Morocco and Western Sahara. SAMSUNG Q320 laptop keyboard
A number of Trans-African highways have been proposed across the Sahara, including the Cairo–Dakar Highway along the Atlantic coast, the Trans-Sahara Highway from Algiers on the Mediterranean to Kano in Nigeria, SONY VGN-FE48M laptop keyboard
the Tripoli – Cape Town Highway from Tripoli in Libya to N'Djamena in Chad, and the Cairo – Cape Town Highway which follows the Nile. Each of these highways is partially complete, with significant gaps and unpaved sections. TOSHIBA Satellite L550-ST2743 laptop keyboard
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara Desert. Politically, it consists of all African countries that are fully or partially located south of the Sahara (excluding Sudan).[2] DELL NSK-DB301 laptop keyboard
It contrasts with North Africa, which is considered a part of the Arab world.Somalia, Djibouti, Comoros and Mauritania are geographically part of Sub-Saharan Africa, but also part of the Arab world.[3][4]
The Sahel is the transitional zone between the Sahara and the tropical savanna (the Sudan region) andforest-savanna mosaic to the south. ASUS F3U laptop keyboard
Since probably the 5.9 kiloyear event,[5] the Saharan and Sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier interrupted by only the Nile River in Sudan, HP Pavilion dv5-1220ez laptop keyboard
though the Nile was blocked by the river's cataracts. The Sahara Pump Theoryexplains how flora and fauna (including Homo sapiens) left Africa to penetrate the Middle East and beyond. ACER Extensa 5635Z laptop keyboard [6]
The Sub-Saharan region is often referred to as Black Africa,[7] in reference to its numerous black populations. However, geographers historically divided the region into several distinct ethnographic sections based on each area's respective inhabitants.[8] HP Pavilion DV7-3173nr laptop keyboard
Commentators in Arabic in the medieval period used the general term bilâd as-sûdân ("Land of the Blacks") for the vastSudan region (an expression denoting West and Central Africa[9]), or sometimes extending from the coast of West Africa to Western Sudan.[10] Its equivalent in the southeast was Zanj ("Country of the Blacks"), HP Mini 110-3107sa laptop keyboard
which was situated in the vicinity of the Great Lakes region.[8][10] Also transliterated as Zenj or Zinj, it was inhabited by Bantu-speaking peoples called the Zanj.[8][11][12]
The geographers drew an explicit ethnographic distinction between the Sudan region and its analogue Zanj, Compaq Presario CQ56-110SM laptop keyboard
with the area to their extreme east on the Red Sea coast in the Horn of Africa.[8] In modern-day Ethiopia was Al-Habash or Abyssinia,[13] which was inhabited by the Habash or Abyssinians, who were the forebears of the Habesha.[14] TOSHIBA Satellite 1800-s208 laptop keyboard
In northern Somalia was Barbara or the Bilad al-Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), which was inhabited by the Eastern Baribah orBarbaroi, as the ancestors of the Somalis were referred to by medieval Arab and ancient Greek geographers, respectively.[8][11][15] HP Pavilion dv6-2165tx Laptop Keyboard
According to paleontology, early hominid skull anatomy was similar to their close cousins, the great African forestapes, HP G62-107SA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
gorilla and chimpanzee, but they had adopted a bipedal locomotion and freed hands giving them a crucial advantage enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open savanna at a time when Africa was drying up, with savanna encroaching on forested areas. This occurred 10 million to 5 million years ago.[17] SONY VAIO VGN-NW20SF Laptop Keyboard
By 3 million years ago several australopithecine (southern apes) hominid species had developed throughout southern, eastern and central Africa. They were tool users, not makers of tools. About 2.3 million BCE, HP G42-164LA Laptop Keyboard
the next major evolutionary step occurred when primitive stone tools were used to scavenge kills made by other predators and harvest carrion for their bones and marrow. In hunting, H. habilis was probably not capable of competing with large predators and was more prey than hunter, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard
although H. habilis probably did steal eggs from nests and may have been able to catch small game and weakened larger prey (cubs and older animals). The tools were classed as Oldowan.[18] SONY VAIO VGN-CR363 Laptop Keyboard
Around 1.8 million years ago, Homo ergaster first appeared in the fossil record in Africa. From Homo ergaster, Homo erectus (upright man) evolved 1.5 million years ago. Some of the earlier representatives of this species were small brained and used primitive stone tools, much like H. habilis. The brain later grew in size, and H. Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 Laptop Keyboard
erectus eventually developed a more complex stone tool technology called the Acheulean. Possibly the first hunters, H. erectusmastered the art of making fire and were the first hominids to leave Africa, SONY VGN-FE41M Laptop Keyboard
colonizing the entire Old World and perhaps later giving rise to Homo floresiensis. Although some recent writers suggest that H. georgicus, a H. habilis descendant, was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live outside Africa, many scientists consider H. georgicus to be an early and primitive member of the H. erectus species.[19] Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Laptop Keyboard
The fossil record shows Homo sapiens living in southern and eastern Africa at least 100,000 and possibly 150,000 years ago. SAMSUNG Q320 Laptop Keyboard
Around 50–60 millennia ago their expansion out of Africa launched the colonization of our planet by modern humans. By 10,000 BCE, Homo sapiens had spread to all corners of the world. Their migration is indicated by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence.[18][20][21] HP 636376-001 Laptop Keyboard
After the Sahara became a desert, it did not present a totally impenetrable barrier for travelers between north and south because of the application of animal husbandry towards carrying water, food, and supplies across the desert. SONY 148084122 Laptop Keyboard
Prior to the introduction of the camel,[22] the use of oxen, mule, and horses for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed chains of oases that were strung across the desert. The trans-saharan trade was in full motion by 500 BCE with Carthage being a major economic force for its establishment.[23][24][25] ACER Aspire 7740 Laptop Keyboard
It is thought that the camel was first brought to Egyptafter the Persian Empire conquered Egypt in 525 BCE, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa for camels to be the pack animal of choice for the trans-saharan trade.[26] DELL Vostro 3550 Laptop Keyboard
Kush and Nubia at her greatest phase is considered Sub-Saharan Africa's oldest urban civilization. Nubia was a major source of gold for the ancient world. ACER Aspire 5810T-8929 Laptop Keyboard
Nubians built famous structures like the Deffufa, mud brick temples similar to the ziggurats of Mesopotamia in material and function.[27] They built numerous pyramids. Sudan, the site of ancient Nubia, has more pyramids than anywhere in the world.[28] Compaq Presario CQ42-228LA Laptop Keyboard
The Axumite Empire spanned the southern Sahara and the Sahel along the western shore of the Red Sea. Located in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, Aksum was deeply involved in the trade network between India and the Mediterranean. Growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period ca. 4th century BCE, HP Pavilion DV7-3065dx Laptop Keyboard
it rose to prominence by the 1st century AD. The Aksumites constructed monolithic stelaes to cover the graves of their kings, such as King Ezana's Stele. The later Zagwe dynasty, established in the 12th century, built churches out of solid rock. These rock-hewn structures include the Church of St. George at Lalibela. DELL E141395 Laptop Keyboard
In ancient Somalia, city-states flourished such as Opone, Mosyllon and Malao that competed with the Sabaeans, Parthiansand Axumites for the wealthy Indo–Greco–Roman trade.[29]
In the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade including the Ajuuraan State, which excelled in hydraulic engineering and fortress building,[30] ACER Aspire 7745G Laptop Keyboard
the Sultanate of Adal, whose General Ahmed Gurey was the first African commander in history to use cannon warfare on the continent during Adal's conquest of the Ethiopian Empire,[31] and the Gobroon Dynasty, Compaq Presario CQ42-228LA Laptop Keyboard
whose military dominance forced governors of the Omani empirenorth of the city of Lamu to pay tribute to the Somali Sultan Ahmed Yusuf.[32] In the late 19th century after the Berlin conference had ended, European empires sailed with their armies to the Horn of Africa. HP G72-c55DX Laptop Keyboard
The imperial armies in Somalia alarmed the Dervish leader Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and began one of the longest colonial resistance wars ever. HP Pavilion dv6-3034tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Further south in East Africa, during the first millennium AD, Nilotic and Bantu-speaking peoples moved into the region, and the latter now comprise three-quarters of Kenya's population. Increased trade (namely with Arab merchants) and the development of ports helped birth of Swahili culture. FUJITSU Amilo Mini Ui 3520 laptop keyboard
Developed from an outgrowth of indigenous Bantu settlements,[33] the Swahili Coast of Kenya, Tanzania and northernMozambique was part of the east African region which traded with Persia, China, the Arab world, and India especially forivory and slaves. HP Pavilion dv6-2125el laptop keyboard
In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to reach the East African coast, and by 1525, the Portuguese had subdued the entire Swahili seaboard. Portuguese control lasted until the early 18th century when Arabs from Oman established a foothold in the region. HP Mini 210-2070ee laptop keyboard
Assisted by Somalis, Ottomans and Omani Arabs,[34] the indigenous coastal dwellers succeeded in driving the Portuguese from the area north of the Ruvuma River by the early 18th century.
In the forest zone, several states and empires emerged. The Ashanti Empire arose in the 16th century in modern day Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. SONY VAIO VGN-NW320F/T laptop keyboard
The oldest kingdom in Nigeria, the Kingdom of Nri, was established by the Igbo in the 11th century. Nri was famous for having a priest-king who wielded no military power. Nri was a rare African state as it never dealt in the trade of slaves. SONY VGN-FE11H laptop keyboard
All slaves and outcasts who sought refuge in their territory were freed. Other major states included the kingdoms ofIfẹ and Oyo in the western block of Nigeria which became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively, SONY VAIO VGN-AR320E laptop keyboard
and center of Yoruba culture. The Yoruba's built massive mud walls around their cities, the most famous being Sungbo's Eredo. Another prominent kingdom in southwestern Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. SAMSUNG Q320 laptop keyboard
Their dominance reached as far as the well known city of Eko which was named Lagos by the Portuguese traders and other early European settlers. The Edo speaking people of Benin are known for the Walls of Benin, which is the largest man-made structure in the world. HP G42-461LA laptop keyboard
In the 18th century, the Oyo and the Aro confederacy were responsible for most of the slaves exported from Nigeria, with Great Britain, France and Portugal shipping the majority of the slaves.[38] Following the Napoleonic Wars, SONY VAIO VGN-AW25GJ laptop keyboard
the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition, and in the following year the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of SirGeorge Taubman Goldie. SONY VAIO PCG-F50/BP laptop keyboard
In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British Government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On 1 January 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate, part of the British Empire, the foremost world power at the time.
By 1960, most of the region received independence from colonial rule. DELL Inspiron 1750 Laptop Keyboard
During the 14th century, the Luba Kingdom in southeast Congo came about under a king whose political authority came from religious spiritual legitimacy. The kingdom controlled agriculture and trade in the region of salt and iron from the north and copper from the Zambian/Congo copper belt.[39] HP 448159-001 Laptop Keyboard
Rival kingship factions which split from the Luba Kingdom later moved among the Lunda people, marrying into its elite and laying the foundation of the Lunda Empire in the 16th century. The ruling dynasty centralised authority among the Lunda under the Mwata Yamyo or Mwaant Yaav. The Mwata Yamyo's legitimacy, DELL Latitude E6500 Laptop Keyboard
like the Luba king, came from being viewed as a spiritual religious guardian. This system of religious spiritual kings was spread to most of central Africa by rivals in kingship migrating and forming new states. Many new states received legitimacy by claiming descent from the Lunda dynasties.[39] DELL Studio 1737 Laptop Keyboard
The Kingdom of Kongo existed from the Atlantic west to the Kwango river to the east. During the 15th century, the Bakongo farming community was united with the capital at Mbanza Kongo, under the king title, Manikongo.[39] DELL Inspiron 1521 Laptop Keyboard
Other significant states and peoples included the Kuba Kingdom, producers of the famous raffia cloth, the Eastern Lunda, Bemba, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Kingdom of Ndongo.
Monomotapa was a medieval kingdom (c. 1250–1629) DELL Alienware M17xR2 Laptop Keyboard
that used to exist between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers of Southern Africa, in the territory of modern-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Famous are the ruins at its old capital of Great Zimbabwe. ACER Travelmate 4152nlci Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to reach the southernmost tip of Africa. In 1652, a victualling station was established at the Cape of Good Hope by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, the slowly expanding settlement was a Dutch possession. HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard
Great Britain seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1795, ostensibly to prevent it from falling into the hands of the French but also to use Cape Town in particular as a stop on the route to Australia and India. It was later returned to the Dutch in 1803, HP Mini 110-1120LA Laptop Keyboard
but soon afterwards the Dutch East India Company declared bankruptcy, and the British annexed theCape Colony in 1806.
The Zulu Kingdom (1817–79) was a Southern African tribal state in what is now Kwa-Zulu Natal in southeastern South Africa. The small kingdom gained world fame during and after the Anglo-Zulu War. ACER Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard
During the 1950s and early 1960s, most Sub-Saharan African nations achieved independence from colonial rule.[40]
The Sub-Saharan African countries form the bulk of the ACP countries. Malaria is a chronic impediment to economic development. ACER TravelMate 4100 Laptop Keyboard
The disease slows growth by about 1.3% per year through lost time caused by illness and the cost of treatment and prevention measures. According to the World Bank, the region's GDP would have been 32% higher in 2003 had the disease been eradicated in 1960.[41] HP Envy 15 Laptop Keyboard
The population of Sub-Saharan Africa was 800 million in 2007.[42] The current growth rate is 2.3%. The UN predicts for the region a population of nearly 1.5 billion in 2050.[43]
Sub-Saharan African countries top the list of countries and territories by fertility rate with 40 of the highest 50, all with TFR greater than 4 in 2008. DELL Precision M4500 Laptop Keyboard
All are above the world average except South Africa. Figures for life expectancy, malnourishment, infant mortality and HIV/AIDS infections are also dramatic. More than 40% of the population in sub-Saharan countries is younger than 15 years old, as well as in the Sudan with the exception of South Africa.[44] DELL PK130801B00 Laptop Keyboard
Sub-Saharan Africa has a very high child mortality rate. While in 2002, 17% of children died before the age of five,[45] by 2007 this rate had declined to 15%.[46] The leading cause of death was malaria infection.[41] HP Pavilion DV6-1030us Laptop Keyboard
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa has grown at an average of 146% annually over the last 22 years to reach US$36 billion in 2007, while trade between Africa and the rest of the world (particularly Asia) has been steadily increasing. HP Probook 4520S Laptop Keyboard
Bilateral trade between China and Africa jumped 45% in 2008 to reach US$107 billion, the bulk of which went to Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres (41,100,000 sq mi),[1] SONY 147977821 Laptop Keyboard
it covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas". SONY 147963021 Laptop Keyboard
The oldest known mention of "Atlantic" is in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4):Atlantis thalassa (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα; English: Sea of Atlas). The term Ethiopic Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, was applied to the southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century.[2] SONY VAIO VGN-CS16M/P laptop keyboard
Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term "ocean" itself was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that we now know as the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling the world. Lenovo 3000 Y510a 15303 laptop keyboard
The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia andAfrica to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected global ocean, HP Pavilion dv6-2030ev laptop keyboard
it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south (other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica). The equator subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean. DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
The Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. HP Pavilion dv6-2060ea laptop keyboard
To the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe; the Strait of Gibraltar (where it connects with the Mediterranean Sea–one of its marginal seas–and, in turn, the Black Sea, both of which also touch upon Asia) and Africa. HP Pavilion dv6-2155ee laptop keyboard
In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean. The 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. Some authorities show it extending south to Antarctica, while others show it bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean.[3] DELL Latitude E5410 laptop keyboard
In the southwest, the Drake Passage connects it to the Pacific Ocean. The man-made Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific. Besides those mentioned, other large bodies of water adjacent to the Atlantic are the Caribbean Sea; the Gulf of Mexico; Hudson Bay; the Arctic Ocean; the Mediterranean Sea; the North Sea; the Baltic Sea and theCeltic Sea. ACER TravelMate 3020 laptop keyboard
Covering approximately 22% of Earth's surface, the Atlantic is second in size to the Pacific. With its adjacent seas, it occupies an area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres (41,100,000 sq mi);[1] without them, ACER TravelMate 2403 Series laptop keyboard
it has an area of 82,400,000 square kilometres (31,800,000 sq mi). The land that drains into the Atlantic covers four times that of either the Pacific or Indian oceans. The volume of the Atlantic with its adjacent seas is 354,700,000 cubic kilometers (85,100,000 cu mi) and without them 323,600,000 cubic kilometres (77,640,000 cu mi). HP pavilion DV7-1029eg laptop keyboard
The average depth of the Atlantic, with its adjacent seas, is 3,339 metres (1,826 fathoms; 10,950 ft); without them it is 3,926 metres (2,147 fathoms; 12,880 ft). The greatest depth, Milwaukee Deep with 8,380 metres (4,580 fathoms; 27,500 ft), HP Pavilion DV6-1122us laptop keyboard
is in the Puerto Rico Trench. The Atlantic's width varies from 1,538 nautical miles (2,848 km; 1,770 mi) between Brazil and Sierra Leone to over 3,450 nautical miles (6,400 km; 4,000 mi) in the south.[citation needed] SONY VAIO VGN-FS315M laptop keyboard
from the "New World". In modern times, some idioms refer to the ocean in a humorously diminutive way as the Pond, describing both the geographical and cultural divide between North America and Europe, DELL PK130801B00 laptop keyboard
in particular between the English-speaking nations of both continents. Many British people refer to the United States and Canada as "across the pond", and vice versa.[4]
The "Black Atlantic" refers to the role of this ocean in shaping black people's history, not least in diasporas. Irish migration to the US is meant when the term "The Green Atlantic" is used. TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5163 laptop keyboard
The "Red Atlantic" is a relatively new term that refers to seafarers as proletarians and revolutionaries who historically resisted exploitation at sea and forged a new multicultural and polyglot Atlantic working-class. [5] HP Pavilion dv5t-1200se CTO laptop keyboard
The principal feature of the bathymetry (bottom topography) is a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.[6] It extends from Iceland in the north to approximately 58° South latitude, reaching a maximum width of about 860 nautical miles (1,590 km; 990 mi). COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
A great rift valley also extends along the ridge over most of its length. The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than 2,700 metres (1,500 fathoms; 8,900 ft) in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep. Several peaks rise above the water and form islands.[7] The South Atlantic Ocean has an additional submarine ridge, the Walvis Ridge.[8] HP G72-b60US Laptop Keyboard
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge separates the Atlantic Ocean into two large troughs with depths from 3,700–5,500 metres (2,000–3,000 fathoms; 12,000–18,000 ft). Transverse ridges running between the continents and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge divide the ocean floor into numerous basins. Some of the larger basins are the Blake, Guiana, North American, HP 519265-001 Laptop Keyboard
Cape Verde, and Canaries basins in the North Atlantic. The largest South Atlantic basins are the Angola, Cape, Argentina, and Brazil basins.
The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat with occasional deeps, abyssal plains, trenches, seamounts, basins,plateaus, canyons, and some guyots. COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
Various shelves along the margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography with few deep channels cut across the continental rise.
On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3 – 3.7%)Lenovo Thinkpad T420 Laptop Keyboard
by mass and varies with latitude and season. Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and sea ice melting influence surface salinity values. Although the lowest salinity values are just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), TOSHIBA Satellite A305 Laptop Keyboard
in general the lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south, in subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation. Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below −2 °C (28 °F). Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, Lenovo 39T7417 Laptop Keyboard
and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by 7–8 °C (12–15°F).
The Atlantic Ocean consists of four major water masses. The North and South Atlantic central waters make up the surface. DELL Vostro 3450 Laptop Keyboard
The sub-Antarctic intermediate water extends to depths of 1,000 metres (550 fathoms; 3,300 ft). The North Atlantic Deep Water reaches depths of as much as 4,000 metres (2,200 fathoms; 13,000 ft). The Antarctic Bottom Wateroccupies ocean basins at depths greater than 4,000 metres. HP Mini 210-1014TU Laptop Keyboard
Within the North Atlantic, ocean currents isolate the Sargasso Sea, a large elongated body of water, with above average salinity. The Sargasso Sea contains large amounts of seaweed and is also the spawning ground for both the European eeland the American eel. HP Pavilion DV6-1002tx Laptop Keyboard
The Coriolis effect circulates North Atlantic water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Atlantic water circulates counter-clockwise. The south tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur during each 24 lunar hours. In latitudes above 40° North some east-west oscillation occurs. HP 519265-001 Laptop Keyboard
Climate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds. Because of the ocean's great capacity to store and release heat, maritime climates are more moderate and have less extreme seasonal variations than inland climates. SONY VAIO VGN-NW110D laptop keyboard
Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures.
The oceans are the major source of the atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; SONY VAIO VGN-N250E/B laptop keyboard
the warmest zones stretch across the Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents influence climate by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. The winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents influence adjacent land areas. HP G42-475TU laptop keyboard
The Gulf Stream and its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, for example, warms the atmosphere of the British Isles and north-western Europe and influences weather and climate as far south as the northern Mediterranean. HP G62-a25SI laptop keyboard
The cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of eastern Canada (the Grand Banks of Newfoundland area) and Africa's north-western coast. In general, winds transport moisture and air over land areas.Hurricanes develop in the southern part of the North Atlantic Ocean. IBM Thinkpad R40 laptop keyboard
More local particular weather examples could be found in examples such as the; Azores High, Benguela Current, Nor'easter.
The Atlantic Ocean appears to be the second youngest of the five oceans. It did not exist prior to 130 million years ago, HP Pavilion DV7-3186cl laptop keyboard
when the continents that formed from the breakup of the ancestral super continent Pangaea were drifting apart from seafloor spreading. The Atlantic has been extensively explored since the earliest settlements along its shores. SONY VAIO VGN-N320E/W laptop keyboard
The Vikings, the Portuguese, and the Spaniards were the most famous among early explorers. After Columbus, European exploration rapidly accelerated, and many new trade routes were established. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop keyboard
As a result, the Atlantic became and remains the major artery between Europe and the Americas (known as transatlantic trade). Scientific explorations include the Challenger expedition, the German Meteor expedition, Columbia University'sLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the United States Navy Hydrographic Office.
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A clockwise warm-water gyre occupies the northern Atlantic, and a counter-clockwise warm-water gyre appears in the southern Atlantic. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin, HP Pavilion DV7-3067cl laptop keyboard
first discovered by the Challenger Expedition dominates the ocean floor. This was formed by the vulcanism that also formed the ocean floor and the islands rising from it. TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5153 laptop keyboard
The Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. These include the Norwegian Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea, Labrador Sea, Black Sea, Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Maine, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. HP Pavilion DV7-3180us laptop keyboard
Islands include Newfoundland (including hundreds of surrounding islands), Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Great Britain (including numerous surrounding islands), Ireland, Rockall, Sable Island, Azores, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Madeira, SONY VAIO VGN-FW11S laptop keyboard
Bermuda, Canary Islands, Caribbean, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe,Annobón Province, Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Trindade and Martim Vaz, Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island (Also known as Diego Alvarez), Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, South Georgia Island, South Sandwich Islands, and Bouvet Island. HP Pavilion dv6-2170ee laptop keyboard
Icebergs are common from February to August in the Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and Madeira. DELL XPS 15 L502X Laptop Keyboard
Ships are subject to superstructure icing in the extreme north from October to May. Persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September, as can hurricanes north of the equator (May to December). DELL Vostro 1015 Laptop Keyboard
The United States' southeast coast has a long history of shipwrecks due to its many shoals and reefs. The Virginia and North Carolina coasts were particularly dangerous.
The Bermuda Triangle is popularly believed to be the site of numerous aviation and shipping incidents because of unexplained and supposedly mysterious causes, but Coast Guard records do not support this belief. HP 643263-001 Laptop Keyboard
Hurricanes are also a natural hazard in the Atlantic, but mainly in the northern part of the ocean, rarely tropical cyclones form in the southern parts. Hurricanes usually form between 1 June and 30 November of every year. SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north ofChad, with a small extension into southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard
lies to the south at a height of 3,445 meters (11,302 ft) and is the highest point in both Chad and the Sahara. Bikku Bitti, the highest peak in Libya, is located in the north of the range. The central third of the Tibesti is of volcanic origin and consists of five shield volcanoes topped by large craters: Emi Koussi, IBM 42T4026 laptop keyboard
Tarso Toon, Tarso Voon, Tarso Yega, and Toussidé. Major lava flows have formed vast plateaus that overlie Paleozoic sandstone. The volcanic activity was the result of a continental hotspot that arose during the Oligocene and continued in some places until the Holocene, creating fumaroles, hot springs, mud pools, Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 laptop keyboard
and deposits of natron and sulfur.Erosion has shaped volcanic spires and carved an extensive network of canyons through which run rivers subject to highly irregular flows that are rapidly lost to the desert sands.
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The Toubou live mainly along the wadis, on rare oases where palm trees and limited grains grow. They harness the water that collects in gueltas, the supply of which is highly variable from year-to-year and decade-to-decade. SONY VAIO VGN-N21E/W laptop keyboard
The plateaus are used to graze livestock in the winter and harvest grain in the summer. Temperatures are high, although the altitude ensures that the range is cooler than the surrounding desert. The Toubou, who first appeared in the range in the 5th century BC, adapted to these conditions and turned the range into a large natural fortress. HP Pavilion DV7T-4100 laptop keyboard
They arrived in several waves, taking refuge in times of conflict and dispersing in times of prosperity, although not without intense internal hostility at times. The Toubou came into contact with theCarthaginians, Berbers, Tuaregs, Ottomans and the Arabs, as well as the French colonists who first entered the range in 1914 and took control of the area in 1929. SONY VAIO VGN-FS215E laptop keyboard
The independent spirit of the Toubou and the geopolitical situation in the region has complicated the exploration of the range as well as the ascent of its peaks. SONY Vaio PCG-K23 laptop keyboard
Tensions continued after Chad and Libya gained independence in the mid-20th century, with hostage taking and armed struggles occurring amid border disputes over the allocation of natural resources. The geopolitical situation and the lack of infrastructure has hampered the development of tourism. DELL NSK-DB301 laptop keyboard
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